QB Pryor fulfills his potential

Highly recruited player leads Buckeyes in Rose

Published 1:00 am, Saturday, January 2, 2010

PASADENA, Calif. -- Ohio State's bowl woes are over, thanks to a sturdy defense and a quarterback who finally played up to his enormous potential.

Terrelle Pryor passed for a season-high 266 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 72 more and threw a 17-yard scoring pass to DeVier Posey with 7:02 to play, ending the No. 8 Buckeyes' three-game BCS skid with a 26-17 victory over No. 7 Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Friday.

Posey had eight catches for 101 yards, and Brandon Saine caught an early TD pass for the Buckeyes (11-2), who put together a remarkably fluid offensive performance in their first trip to Pasadena since 1997.

That offense relied on Pryor, the sophomore quarterback who has had a hard time matching his enormous hype. With a Rose Bowl effort that evoked memories of Vince Young's breakout performance in the same stadium four years ago, Pryor shook off his early mistakes and led the Buckeyes confidently through a tense fourth quarter.

"I just wanted to lead the team as best I can," Pryor said. "The defense helped out a lot."

Capital One Bowl: Penn St. 19, LSU 17

ORLANDO, Fla. -- After a sloppy start on a muddy field, Penn State finished with a flourish to win the Capital One Bowl. Collin Wagner kicked a 21-yard field goal with 57 seconds left, and the No. 11 Nittany Lions staved off a last-ditch drive by No. 13 LSU for a 19-17 victory. Penn State (11-2) gave up a 13-point, second-half lead after Stevan Ridley's one-yard touchdown run put LSU (9-4) ahead 17-16 with 12:49 left. But quarterback Daryll Clark led the Nittany Lions on the game-winning, 12-play drive in crunch time. Penn State had two critical third-down conversions to help set up Wagner's game winner -- one of four field goals on the day for the junior kicker.

Outback Bowl: Auburn 38, Northwestern 35

TAMPA, Fla. -- Auburn stopped Northwestern's final trick play of the game and, after two earlier celebrations, the Tigers held on for a 38-35 overtime win. Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime, and the Tigers overcame several mistakes that gave the Wildcats chances for their first bowl victory in 61 years. On the game's final play, the Wildcats sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try to force a second overtime. But a fake field goal failed when holder Zeke Markshausen took the snap, circled right end and was forced out of bounds by Auburn's Neiko Thorpe at the 2-yard line.